Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has quietly given out a major grant to support online privacy. According to on-chain records shared by CryptoSlate, Buterin sent 256 ETH — about $600,000 — to two private, secure messaging apps: Session and SimpleX Chat.
What the grant is for
Buterin’s donation is meant to help both projects keep building messaging systems that hide user metadata, not just message content. This is a big deal, because metadata — who you talk to, when, and how often — is often easier to track than the encrypted messages themselves.
What’s interesting is that neither Session nor SimpleX uses Ethereum, smart contracts, or any crypto wallet features. They’re simply privacy-first communication tools. Buterin’s support is clearly about protecting digital communication, not expanding Ethereum.
How the two apps protect privacy
Session
- Uses public-key identities instead of phone numbers or usernames.
- Uses multi-hop onion routing, so no single node knows both the sender and receiver.
- Stores messages temporarily inside decentralized “swarms,” which only hold encrypted data.
- Node operators stake tokens to prevent spam and fake identities.
SimpleX Chat
- Removes long-term user identities completely.
- Users connect with one-time invites or QR codes.
- Every conversation uses its own encrypted channel.
- Servers only relay messages and cannot link them to any person.
- All contacts and message history stay on your device, not on a server.
Why the funding matters
This donation is small compared to typical crypto fundraising rounds, but the message is clear: Buterin wants to support private communication infrastructure, not just blockchain development.
He has spoken for years about the need for strong digital privacy — not only for money but also for basic online communication.
Blockchain networks, including Ethereum, broadcast activity publicly by design, which makes them a poor fit for private messaging. That’s why these two apps build privacy into their core protocols instead of trying to bolt it on later.
Bigger picture
Privacy-focused messaging tools don’t usually get the same funding attention as big crypto projects, even though nearly everyone uses messaging apps daily. By backing Session and SimpleX, Buterin is highlighting how important metadata-resistant communication is becoming in a world where nearly every digital action is tracked.
Both apps tackle the problem differently, but they share the same goal: reduce how much information the network — or any company — can learn about the people using it.
